Tubular open ended package for containers



y 1968 A. JQRGENSEN 3,391,781

TUBULAR OPEN ENDED PACKAGE FOR CONTAINERS Filed 001;. 6, 1966 United States Patent 3,391,781 TUBULAR OPEN ENDED PACKAGE FOR CONTAINERS Arne Jrgensen, Korsor, Denmark, assignor to Unilever N.V., Rotterdam, Netherlands, a company of the Netherlands Filed Oct. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 584,726 Claims priority, application Denmark, Oct. 11, 1965, 5,196/65 3 Claims. (Cl. 206--65) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A package is formed of a tubular open-ended cardboard wrapping having a top, bottom and side walls and placed around a single row of truncated conical containers divided into two superposed tiers and each having an upstanding, outwardly extending top rim providing a recessed top cover larger than the container base. The rims of the upper containers protrude through side openings in the packing to thereby be held in place. The lower containers are held both in such manner and by tongues cut in the side Walls of the packing and hinged above the rims of such containers, said tongues being pressed in to engage such containers within the rims thereof.

The present invention concerns a blank for making a tubular packing to hold containers of mainly truncated conical or truncated pyramidal shape, which containers. are placed in a single row and stacked in at least two heights and which are of the kind closed at the broad end by a lid with an upstanding rim, said blank being divided by parallel folding lines into a broader top part, a narrower bottom part and two side parts of equal width, and having at one end a flap with locking slits and at the other end locking tongues corresponding to said slits.

Theobject of the invention is to produce a blank of the said kind yielding a tubular packing, which, notwithstanding the open ends and the fact that the containers to be packed are placed side by side at two or more heights, is capable of securely holding the individual containers and which at the same time is of so simple a design that it is produced easily and without excessive use of packing material, and can be wrapped around the containers by machine.

According to the present invention there is provided a tubular packing for a plurality of containers each having outwardly extending rims and arranged in at least two superimposed rows, the packing comprising a top part, a bottom part and two side parts of equal height having a number of openings therein adjacent the top part through which the outwardly extending rims of each of the containers in the uppermost row protrude, and at least one further row of openings in the side parts through which the outwardly extending rims of the containers in the lower row or rows protude, the openings in each of the further row or rows being spaced vertically below the openings adjacent the top part.

The openings in the side parts are preferably formed by tongues cut out from and hingedly connected to the packing. The openings of the lower or rows can be formed by tongues limited at the sides by diverging cuts so that the tongues broaden away from the line of the hinge, and the tongues can be terminated by a circular cut substantially parallel with the line of the hinge.

A fold line is advantageously formed near the free end of the tongues of the lower row or rows of openings parallel to the line of the hinge and adjacent the circular cut, so that inward pressure on the tongue causes the circular cut edge of the tongue to locate with the rim of the container.

3,391,781 Patented July 9, 1968 The packing can be formed from a cal-board blank and can be provided with locking tongues and slits to maintain the packing wrapped around the containers.

When the containers to 'be packed are of conical or pyramidal shape the bottom part of the packing is advantageously narrower than the top part of the packing so that the side parts substantially conform to the side walls of the containers.

The invention will now be described in. fuller detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the flat blank, and

FIG. 2 on a larger scale shows a cross-section through the blank after it has been transformed into a tubular packing for containers stacked at two heights.

FIGURE 1 shows a cardboard blank which is divided by folding lines 5, 6, 7 and 8 into a top part 9, two side parts It and 11 of equal width, at bottom part 12, which is somewhat narrower than the top part 9, and a flap 13 hinged to the side part 10. Furthermore the bottom part 12 at its free longer side has tongues 14 which are intended to be inserted into slits 15 in the folding line 5.

Each of the folding lines 6 and 7 is interrupted by a number of cuttings 16 corresponding to the number of containers in a horizontal row of containers to be packed,

in the shown blank two cuttings for each of the two folding lines. Said cuttings are substantially circular and form tongues 17, which, when the blank is erected, protrude from the top part 9 and leave openings 18 (FIG. 2) in the side parts Ill and 11.

In each of the side parts 10 and 11 two further tongues 19 are cut out, each of which is hinged to the blank by a folding line 20 and further has another folding line 21 parallel to the folding line 29, said folding line 21 being placed halfway between the folding lines 5 and 6, respectively 7 and 8.

The tongues 12 are here shown as being limited at the sides by diverging cuts so that they broaden away from the folding line 20, and they are terminated by a circular cut to give the part 22 between this cut and the fold line 21 the form of a segment of a circle.

FIG. 2 shows the blank placed around containers 23 and 24 indicated by broken lines, said containers being truncated with an outward-bent rim at the top, the containers being closed by lids 25 and 26 with upstanding rims being bent outward at the top corresponding to the out ward-bent rim of the container. The lids 25 and 26 thus have a depressed middle part, the diameter of which is somewhat bigger than that of the bottom of the container.

When packing the containers 23 and 24, the carton blanks are supplied in fiat form and the container 23 is placed upside down on the top part 9 in a line with the two cuts 16. The container 24 is placed upside down on top of the container 23, the bottom of which thus fits into the depression in the lid 26 on the container 24.

Then, the side parts 16 and 11 are erected whereby parts of the protruding rim of the container 23 and its lid 25 are secured in the openings 18.

During or after the said erection, the tongues 19 are subjected to an inwardly directed pressure between the folding lines 20 and 21. Thereby the part 22 of the tongue is bent toutwards along the folding line 21, the part 22 contacting the rim of the container 24 and the lid 26, and the tongue 19 itself being bent to such a degree that it slides over the rim in question, whereu on the tongue straightens out .again owing to the elasticity of the blank, so that the part 22 comes to test against the bottom of the depression in the lid 26. It will be noted that parts of the protruding rims of the container 24 and its lid 26 protrude through the openings left by the bending in of the tongues 19, which openings thus serve the same purpose as the openings 18.

As the last step, the bottom part 12 is folded across the bottom of the container 23, and the locking tongues 14 are inserted in the slits 15. The tubular packing then encloses four containers, which are securely locked in their places.

Within the scope of the invention broader blanks may be used for holding more than two containers in the horizontal row, the folding lines 6 and 7 then being interrupted by a correspondingly greater number of cuts 16, and the side parts 10 and 11 being provided with additional tongues 19 in the row.

Likewise the side parts 10 and 11 may be higher, so that the packing is capable of holding three or more containers on top of each other, in which case additional rows of tongues 19 are provided.

What is claimed is:

1. In a package comprised of a plurality of containers arranged in a single row and stacked in an upper tier and at least one lower tier, and of an open-ended tubular packing enclosing said containers and formed from a single blank having a top, bottom and two side parts, said packing having upper and lower rows of openings in each of said two side parts, and said lower row of openings being provided by cuts in said side parts which also form tongues hinged to said side parts, the improvement in which each of said containers has a top closure member characterized by an upstanding outwardly-projecting rim and a recessed central portion within said rim, the rims of said upper and lower tiers of containers protrude through respectively, said upper and lower openings, the bases of said upper tiers of containers fit with respective clearances within the upstanding rims of said lower tier of containers to abut against the central portions of the top closure members of the latter containers,

and in which said tongues are connected to said side parts along hinge lines disposed above said lower openings and above the rims of said lower containers, said tongues being inwardly pressable and resiliently bendable to render the lower ends thereof inwardly slidable past the rims of such lower containers and expandable down into such clearances so as to terminate therein and to engage such lower containers within the inside walls of the upstanding rims thereof.

2. A package according to claim 1 in which the lower ends of said tongues are arcuate.

3. A package according to claim 2 in which said tongues are limited at the sides by diverging cuts so that the tongues broaden away from the hinge lines.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,351,470 6/1944 Amberg 206-65 XR 2,840,233 6/1958 Grinspoon 206-47 XR 2,874,833 2/1959 Toensmeier 206-65 2,912,103 11/1959 Hennessey et a1. 206-65 2,964,229 12/1960 Mansfield 206-65 XR 2,986,272 5/1961 Kruse 206-65 3,090,539 5/1963 Dorofachuk 229- 3,207,303 9/1965 Breedveld 206- 3,225,921 12/1965 Powling et a1. 206-65 3,300,119 1/1967 Chaussadas 206-65 XR 3,339,725 9/1967 Hamilton 206-65 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,383,034 11/1964 France.

DAVIS T. MOOREHEAD, Primary Examiner. 

